A Small, Furry Creature
by sartiebodyshots
Summary: Julian brings a small creature home to Odo and Garak and wants to keep it as a pet.


"... What is it?" Odo asked Julian, leaning in close to examine the small creature in Julian's hands.

"She's a hedgehog!" Julian replied, practically vibrating. He was far too excited to be holding a sniffling little rodent, in Odo's opinion.

"And why is it in our quarters?" Garak chimed in. He sounded about as impressed as Odo felt.

"Somehow, this little creature made her way from Earth to Deep Space 9!" Julian said. "She must be a smart little thing- Miles found her curled up in an air vent of one of the incoming ships. He was complaining about her, so I offered to take her home! We can have a pet, you guys!"

"A pet...?" Odo tried out the word. He had heard it, but it was unfamiliar to him. "Is she sentient?"

"What?" Julian sounded shocked, "Of course not. You can't keep sentient creatures as pets."

Odo paused a little and decided to move on. "What do you do with your pets?"

"They're for eating, generally," Garak peeped up. "You raise them, and then, when they're old enough, you kill them and eat them. Or so I hear. We never had any pets."

"That's not what you're supposed to do with pets, Odo, at least not unless you're farming like they used to," Julian said, throwing Garak a slightly disturbed look. Odo was pretty sure that was a slight variation on his usual 'I'm not sure if my Cardassian tailor boyfriend is messing with me or what' face, but it was a little different than usual. Probably because of the cute animals involved. Odo had noticed that humanoids loved their cute animals. "For humans, pets do all kinds of things. They provide companionship, and children can learn about responsibility by caring for them. Most kids have pets growing up back on earth, although on starships and on space stations, they're a little less popular."

"Doctor, you're dating two people, you have a multitude of friends, and an entire spaceship worth of patients: how much more companionship can you possibly need?" Garak quipped. "It's amazing you find any time to be by yourself as it is."

"It's different," Julian protested. "Pets provide a different kind of companionship."

Garak apparently didn't decide to dignify that with any kind of response, looking down at his PADD, so Julian went over to the replicator unit and replicated a cage and some bedding for the animal.

"Hippocrates is staying," Julian declared.

That made Garak look up from his PADD. "We're not naming her after one of your Earth philosophers. And Hippocrates was a man, not a woman, so it doesn't even make any sense."

"So? It's a good name," Julian replied.

"'First do no harm,'" Garak recited. "What kind of philosophy is that?"

"A particularly good one for doctors!" Julian retorted.

While Julian and Garak argued out medical philosophy, Odo gently took the cage from Julian and set it on the floor, stretching out next to it so he could look at the little creature in the cage. She was small and brown, sniffing at him curiously. The spines on her back seemed good for protection, Odo decided. Very practical.

He opened the cage and reached in to pet her. After all, it seemed to make sense that you would pet a pet, right? Especially since they were for companionship, allegedly. But as soon as he neared her, she curled up into a ball, so all he could see of her was her quills. He ran his finger over them, noting how she reacted depending on which direction he stroked.

"How does the animal provide companionship?" Odo interrupted the argument bluntly.

They both looked down at him, seemingly surprised to find him sprawled on the floor. They always got so hilariously involved in their arguments. He was pretty sure the space station could be invaded and they wouldn't notice if the argument was intense enough. "Some people talk to their pets," Julian said. "Or you can play with them."

"Eat them," Garak chimed in, and Odo was surprised to find that he was glaring at Garak in tandem with Julian.

"Do they go places with you?" Odo asked. "Because this ball does not seem inclined to play."

"Sometimes you can take them on walks with you, but mostly they tend to stay at home," Julian explained. "And she'll unfurl when she feels more comfortable."

Odo nodded and then returned to petting the creature. Slowly, she unfurled himself and Odo found himself smiling.

From the couch, he heard a sigh. He looked up from the creature to see that Garak was staring at the two of them.

"Yes?" Odo asked.

"Zorana is going to have to stay, isn't it?" Garak said.

"Merit Ptah!" Julian interjected. "I thought we agreed on Merit Ptah!"

Odo shook his head a little bit. He would let the two of them duke it out. After a few minutes, the animal nibbled at his fingers and then began scampering on top of him. It was slightly concerning, but, as the animal settled near where the base of his spine, he decided it was nice, so he let her stay.

As the arguing wound down- still no consensus on a name- Julian stretched out next to Odo, holding his hand and grinning at him widely.

"Did I do something wrong?" Odo asked softly. "She hasn't moved for a while."

"No!" Julian said, "She's asleep! Odo, I think she likes you."

That touched him, but also startled him. He made a humphing noise. "She must be tired from her trip," Odo said. "You said that she came all the way from Earth somehow, so that must have been some trip."

Julian just somehow smiled even wider and nudged him. "Maybe. But I think she likes you! And she's really cute."

"You're trying to get me on your side," Odo said.

"And you're not being very covert about it, either," Garak added.

"I'm just pointing out the obvious," Julian retorted. "I think it's cute, and I think we could use an animal. I've always wanted a pet."

Something softened in Garak's demeanor, and he said, "What do hedgehogs eat?"

Julian furrowed his brows. "Uh…"

Garak picked up his PADD and began typing. After a few seconds, he had the answer. "They're insectivores, but some people feed them high quality cat food. I'm not sure what cat food is, but I'm assuming the good doctor does."

"I do, Garak," Julian said, practically glowing now. "I'm sure I can program the replicator with the perfect diet!" He practically bolted up, ran a finger over their new pet, and then immediately went over to the replicator to work on it.

Once he was out of the room, Garak quietly joined Odo on the floor and scooped the creature off of his back. Since he no longer had to lay still, Odo sat up next to Garak, watching as the other man carefully brought the little creature to eye level. She immediately began hissing at him and tried to jump at him.

Looking concernedly at Garak, Odo gently took the hedgehog from him and set her on the ground.

"It isn't some cute fluffy animal after all," Garak remarked. He sounded almost amused, and then he nodded his head towards where the hedgehog had begun scrambling into Odo's lap. "Our dearest doctor was right, she does like you."

Odo picked her up to help her into his lap. "You're both right," he said, very happy about that fact.

Garak placed his arm around Odo and scooted in a little closer. Still smiling softly, Odo leaned over to rest his head on Garak's shoulder.

After a few minutes, Julian walked back into the room, plate full of insects and what was presumably cat food. He looked at the two of them in surprise, and then he quickly became smug. Before he could talk, though, Odo shot him a look that nearly ordered him not to say anything. He was enjoying the peace too much. Heeding Odo, Julian simply brought the food over and sat on Odo's other side.

"I think I'm starting to get what a pet is," Odo said, turning to smile at Julian, who was beaming right back at him.


End file.
